1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a piezoelectric element which includes a piezoelectric body containing zirconium and titanium, a liquid discharging head which is provided with piezoelectric element, and a liquid discharging apparatus.
2. Related Art
For example, in an ink jet recording head (a liquid discharging head), a piezoelectric element is preferably used as a driving source for discharging ink or used as various sensors. The piezoelectric element is formed in such a way of interposing a piezoelectric body between a pair of electrodes. As such a piezoelectric body, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) which is formed of perovskite type crystal containing titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), and lead (Pb) is mainly used (for example, refer to JP-A-2010-241021). In addition, a portion which is interposed between a lower electrode layer and an upper electrode layer in the piezoelectric body layer is an active portion which is deformed due to the voltage application on both electrode layers.
The properties of the piezoelectric element change depending on a composition of PZT. For example, in the composition ratio of titanium to zirconium, as the ratio of Ti becomes larger, it is possible to increase the amount of the displacement at the time of driving. On the other hand, there is a problem in that as the ratio of Ti becomes larger, leakage current is likely to flow. In contrast, as the ratio of Zr becomes larger, it is possible to suppress the leakage current; however, there is a problem in that as the ratio of Zr becomes larger, the amount of displacement at the time of driving is decreased.